leaving

The first time, it’s easy. You’re excited, having thoroughly googled about boarding school and high school and making friends and study tips. Your parents drive you down, help you move in amidst the chaos of all the other families and their daughters. The first night, you lie on your back in your new bed with…

The time has passed so quickly yet not at all. That’s how semesters go, as birds soaring past the sun, as feathers dragging in the wind. You have flinched during thunderstorms, studied for essays, sweated gallons from your upper lip alone. Intimidated, you still haven’t tried to use any clause-final discourse particles— you’d feel silly,…